Interpreting the Internet

Abstract

This book provides the first in-depth exploration of how Latin American feminist and queer activists have interpreted the internet, from its inception in the region through the explosion of social media. They have done so to support their counterpublics: the diverse and dynamic arenas in which they develop their identities, build their communities, and hone their strategies for social change. This region boasts a long history of gender- and sexuality-based counterpublic construction, supported by a range of alternative media. Since the 1990s, aided by a global network of women and men dedicated to establishing an accessible internet, activists have translated the internet into their own vernacular. Through an analysis of original research based on over 125 interviews and online evidence spanning fifteen years, this book advances three interrelated arguments. First, it supports the sociomaterial thesis that, as with all technologies, the internet is influenced by the social contexts in which it is embedded. But this influence changes over time and place. Second, the internet in itself offers no guarantee of social or political transformation. Instead, this book’s third argument is that the internet’s potential depends on the consciousness and creativity with which activists translate it into their own contexts, through adopting, sharing, and wielding it. In Latin America, feminist and queer counterpublic organizations have taken advantage of all three layers of the internet – physical, logical, and content – to extend and enrich their communities. And, led by their “keystone species” of early adopting, technologically savvy members, they have transformed applications from distribution lists to blogs in order to reflect their values.

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